Political Blotter » bookshttp://www.ibabuzz.com/politics
Politics in the Bay Area and beyondFri, 31 Jul 2015 21:59:01 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=4.2.3‘Dog on the Roof!’ book pokes fun at Romney, SFhttp://www.ibabuzz.com/politics/2012/06/06/dog-on-the-roof-book-pokes-fun-at-romney-sf/
http://www.ibabuzz.com/politics/2012/06/06/dog-on-the-roof-book-pokes-fun-at-romney-sf/#commentsWed, 06 Jun 2012 23:48:43 +0000http://www.ibabuzz.com/politics/?p=20100I received today a copy of “Dog on the Roof! On the Road with Mitt & The Mutt,” a political satire novelty picture book by Bruce Kluger and David Slavin. The small book lampoons Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s now infamous family vacation, a cross-country road-trip for which they put their dog, Seamus, in a […]]]>

The small book lampoons Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s now infamous family vacation, a cross-country road-trip for which they put their dog, Seamus, in a carrier on the roof of the car.

The book follows the Romneys through various American cities, with heavily doctored photo illustrations accompanied by verse. As we’re a Bay Area news organization, I thought I might share the San Francisco section:

(from Romney)

Now, boys, close your eyes,
for we’ve hit rock bottom –
a city that’s ruled
by Gomorrah and Sodom.

A village of sinners
who clamor for booty,
and bow at the altar
of Liza and Judy.

Don’t mean to be prissy,
don’t want to disparage –
they’re free to cut hair,
but they’ll never have marriage!

(and, from Seamus)

These people love Broadway,
so how ‘bout a spoof?
Instead of a fiddler –
a dog on the roof!

I’m am not anticipating that this will be a National Book Award recipient.

]]>http://www.ibabuzz.com/politics/2012/06/06/dog-on-the-roof-book-pokes-fun-at-romney-sf/feed/1Dog on the RoofElection overload? Go read a book.http://www.ibabuzz.com/politics/2010/10/13/election-overload-go-read-a-book/
http://www.ibabuzz.com/politics/2010/10/13/election-overload-go-read-a-book/#commentsWed, 13 Oct 2010 23:25:19 +0000http://www.ibabuzz.com/politics/?p=13747You can’t turn on your television or radio without seeing and hearing political ads. Your phone is ringing off the hook with political robocalls. Your mailbox is stuffed with political mailers. Maybe some political precinct-walker is knocking at your door even now. Ah, election season. What better time to get away from it all with […]]]>

You can’t turn on your television or radio without seeing and hearing political ads. Your phone is ringing off the hook with political robocalls. Your mailbox is stuffed with political mailers. Maybe some political precinct-walker is knocking at your door even now.

Ah, election season. What better time to get away from it all with a book?

A political book, of course. Here are a few that’ve crossed my desk recently:

Now in paperback with a new afterword by the author, this book asserts that Kennedy’s turn away from Cold War dogma led the military and intelligence communities to mark him as a threat to their power and influence, and to mark him for death. “Did this suspicion and rage lead directly to his murder by agents of those institutions, as Douglass concludes?” asks Berkeley’s Daniel Ellsberg, famed for leaking the Pentagon Papers on decision-making in the Vietnam War in 1971. “Many readers who are not yet convinced of this ‘beyond reasonable doubt’ by Douglass’ prosecutorial indictment will find themselves, perhaps – like myself – for the first time, compelled to call for an authoritative criminal investigation.”

Republicans from coast to coast have no more favorite punching bag in these midterm elections than the House Speaker from San Francisco. This book purports to pull together “the extensive evidence of the Speaker’s ruthlessness, patronage, and hypocrisy … thereby thoroughly debunking Pelosi’s carefully cultivated image as a caring, maternal champion of the public good,” according to the publicity notes. “Pelosi has instilled within Congress a tyrannical system predicated upon pretense, corruption, and uninhibited behavior that will inevitably have devastating effects on our country if she isn’t stopped.”

A revised and updated edition of his 1979 bestseller, Ringer’s book takes aim at what he says are unconstitutional government polices that are wrecking our economy and liberty. “With Washington growing bigger and bigger by the day and distancing itself further and further from our precious Constitution and founding principles, the timing could not be better for Robert Ringer’s classic ‘Restoring the American Dream,’” says Rep. Michelle Bachmann, R-Minn. “What a gift this important work is to a nation yearning for liberty and freedom.”

Mathews – a freelance journalist, Daily Beast columnist and New America Foundation senior fellow – and Paul – a former deputy state treasurer and Sacramento Bee deputy editorial page editor now also at the New America Foundation – trace the Golden State’s governance woes and offer up solutions to let Californians debate their choices, hold elected officials accountable and choose again if something doesn’t work. “It cuts through the familiar tangle of diagnoses and quick-fix solutions to provide a comprehensive and persuasive analysis of California’s dysfunctional governmental system,” says former Sac Bee columnist and author Peter Schrag. “It is the best discussion of the issue I’ve seen in over three decades.”

]]>http://www.ibabuzz.com/politics/2010/10/13/election-overload-go-read-a-book/feed/3JFK and the UnspeakableShe’s the BossRestoring the American DreamCalifornia CrackupOn the bookshelves…http://www.ibabuzz.com/politics/2010/01/12/on-the-bookshelves/
http://www.ibabuzz.com/politics/2010/01/12/on-the-bookshelves/#commentsTue, 12 Jan 2010 18:45:47 +0000http://www.ibabuzz.com/politics/?p=9846A few recent books for the politically minded… “A New American Tea Party: The Counterrevolution Against Bailouts, Handouts, Reckless Spending and More Taxes” by John M. O’Hara (Wiley, $24.95) The spokesman for the conservative Heartland Institute tees off on the tea party movement, presenting “the voices behind the growing discontent among everyday citizens with increased […]]]>

The spokesman for the conservative Heartland Institute tees off on the tea party movement, presenting “the voices behind the growing discontent among everyday citizens with increased government spending, taxation, and intervention into both the private sector and our private lives.” After a foreword by grenade-hurler Michelle Malkin, O’Hara walks readers through the movement’s genesis (the financial bailout, disdain from the liberal-biased media and Obama Administration, the health care debate) before presenting a “Tea Party Manifesto” and “Rules for Counterradicals.”

It’s pretty much as you’d expect: The feel-good hit of the late winter for those who spent the late summer shouting down members of Congress in town-hall meetings. Among the author’s thoughts:

“Anyone who attended or watched the tea parties knows that the events were not about race and that any assertions to the contrary are sad attempts at hurting a strong movement many on the left fear.” – p. 84

“ACORN calls the tea parties partisan because it does not want Americans to believe that social change can occur in nonradical ways.” – p.148

“Most Americans believe that you have the right to work hard and keep as much of your earnings as possible to do with what you see fit. The Left is different. Theirs is a philosophy of entitlement. People on the Left don’t believe you are free to pursue happiness as you please (except in matters of sexual conduct). Rather, they believe you are entitled to the happiness that they determine is best for you.” – p. 229

The renowned journalist/cartoonist delivers 50 years of Gaza Strip history, starting from two late-1956 incidents in which Israeli troops killed masses of Palestinian civilians and tracing the reverberations through today’s sorry state of affairs. Supporters of Israel may ask why Sacco didn’t draw and write about victims of Palestinian suicide bombers; be that as it may, Sacco’s interviews and research are detailed and extensive, and his art is compelling. Like Art Spiegelman (“Maus,” “In the Shadow of No Towers”) and Marjane Satrapi (“Persepolis”), Sacco must be considered among the world’s foremost graphic chroniclers of the (in)human condition. If you’re a fan of journalism and/or graphic novels (and I’m both), you should check it out.

Sharpsteen, a Los Angeles writer, photographer and documentary producer, admiringly tells the tale of Howard Bennett, an LA schoolteacher who helped birth the region’s coastal water quality movement in the mid-‘80s by using over-the-top rhetoric to fight pollution in Santa Monica Bay.

Bennett, who swam in that bay every day, found Los Angeles had sought a Clean Water Act waiver to keep dumping sewage there, and so he started staging stunts like wrapping brown ribbon around city hall and presenting officials with Dirty Toilet Awards. In time, the waiver was denied, the bay was cleaned up and a movement was born that continues today.

Trudeau launched Doonesbury 40 years ago this coming October, and he’s still encouraging the world to laugh (rather than cry) at its political absurdities, four to eight frames at a time. This book collects recent daily and Sunday strips in which our tried-and-true protagonists grapple with the blowback of 21st-century international relations. The amoral Duke is lobbying for a Middle Eastern dictator who hopes his world-class golf course will distract American lawmakers from his recent ethnic cleansing just long enough to sign over an arms package. Football and war hero B.D. is helping an Iraq vet recover from traumatic brain injury. My hero, Washington Post reporter Rick Redfern, is kicked to the curb while his son interns with the CIA in Afgahnistan and television journalist Roland Hedley is busy putting the “twit” in “Twitter.” If you’re a fan, pick it up.

]]>http://www.ibabuzz.com/politics/2010/01/12/on-the-bookshelves/feed/1A New American Tea PartyFootnotes in GazaDirty WaterTee Time in BerzerkistanBooks for the already-convincedhttp://www.ibabuzz.com/politics/2009/12/17/books-for-the-already-convinced/
http://www.ibabuzz.com/politics/2009/12/17/books-for-the-already-convinced/#commentsThu, 17 Dec 2009 18:49:16 +0000http://www.ibabuzz.com/politics/?p=9600Two new titles crossed my desk this week: “Inside Obama’s Brain” (Portfolio, $24.95) by Sasha Abramsky, and “Going Rouge – Sarah Palin: An American Nightmare,” (Health Communications, $15.95) edited by Richard Kim and Betsy Reed. Both are likely to please the people who are likely to buy them. Abramsky – a Sacramento-based freelance journalist and […]]]>

Abramsky – a Sacramento-based freelance journalist and senior fellow at Demos who reports on political personalities and cultural trends for outlets such as the Atlantic Monthly, the Huffington Post, Mother Jones and the Nation, among others – interviewed almost 100 of President Obama’s current and former friends, colleagues, classmates, staff, fellow activists, neighbors and so on. He introduces his book thus:

In a very real way, we want answered the question, “what makes Obama tick?” That core question is what Inside Obama’s Brain sets out to answer. To do so, one has to ask a host of smaller questions: How does he approach problems? What ideas and intellectual theories make up his political credo? How does he communicate with friends and foes? How do his many skills play out in his chosen fields, the worlds of writing, organizing, law and politics? And why is it that so many people not just in the United States but around the world are so seduced – and so willing to be seduced – by his words and his presence?

The responses, provided by relatives, friends and colleagues from the many layers of Obama’s extraordinary life, and by his own words – put forth in his books and essays, in media interviews spanning more than a decade, and in numerous campaign speeches and political meetings – reveal the complexity of a man who has become something of a mythical figure in his own lifetime.

Although well-researched and generously footnoted, this book starts from the premise that President Obama is an inspirational figure, transformative for the better; it wraps up by calling him “a living legend.” Those who disagree with the President politically aren’t likely to think much of this book.

Similarly, “Going Rouge” – edited by two senior editors at the Nation – is meant as rebuttal to Palin’s bestselling memoir, “Going Rogue” (HarperCollins, $28.99) right down to the portrait on the cover: Instead of Palin wearing red in front of a cloud-dappled blue sky, it’s Palin wearing red in front of storm clouds and a lightning bolt.

And in this case you can judge a book by its cover. “Going Rouge” collects essays from liberal writers including Jim Hightower, Katha Pollitt, Gloria Steinem, Tom Frank and many others seeking to deconstruct Palin’s “maverick” political persona and policies, casting her as “a Christian fundamentalist opposed to the teaching of honest sex education in schools and in favor of teaching creationism alongside evolution, a climate-change-denier and government-basher alarmingly ignorant of the world and totally unprepared to be president.” It reviews all her gaffes and her conservative policy statements from last year and since, and contemplates “the nightmarish prospect of her continuing to dominate the nation’s political scene.”

Like Abramsky’s book, this one isn’t likely to change any minds, just to reassure those who’ve already made their minds up.

]]>http://www.ibabuzz.com/politics/2009/12/17/books-for-the-already-convinced/feed/6Inside Obama’s BrainGoing RougeSome recent political books for holiday readinghttp://www.ibabuzz.com/politics/2009/11/24/some-recent-political-books-for-holiday-reading/
http://www.ibabuzz.com/politics/2009/11/24/some-recent-political-books-for-holiday-reading/#commentsTue, 24 Nov 2009 20:50:53 +0000http://www.ibabuzz.com/politics/?p=9384No, I’ve not read Palin’s book. Or Plouffe’s. But I’ve very much enjoyed Thomas Fleming’s “The Intimate Lives of the Founding Fathers” (Smithsonian Books, $27.99), which examines the women behind the men who launched our nation. A young George Washington was head-over-heels for his half-brother’s wife’s hot, young, married sister-in-law long before he met the […]]]>

But I’ve very much enjoyed Thomas Fleming’s “The Intimate Lives of the Founding Fathers” (Smithsonian Books, $27.99), which examines the women behind the men who launched our nation. A young George Washington was head-over-heels for his half-brother’s wife’s hot, young, married sister-in-law long before he met the wealthy widow with whom he would share his life; Benjamin Franklin, while undeniably randy in his youth, was not nearly the elderly horndog his detractors made him out to be; John Adams, while constantly obsessing over perceived slights and his own historical legacy, couldn’t imagine being without Abigail yet endured years apart from her. We’re quick to deify these men, quick to forget they were real people with real lives that helped define the birth of our nation; this very engaging book offers a window into who they really were, and the vital roles their life partners played in making history.

Far less exciting is “O is for Obama: An Irreverent A-to-Z Guide to Washington and Beltway Politics” (Triumph, $16.95), written by the Washington Post’s Dana Milbank and illustrated by Mark Anderson. “D is for Drudge, who, like Limbaugh and Hannity/Believes that Obama is causing calamity.” It’s just not as light and clever as it clearly had hoped to be, although the illustrations by Anderson – whose work has appeared in publications including Time, The New Yorker and the Wall Street journal – are undeniably delightful.

Among other titles that’ve crossed my desk lately:

“California’s Golden Years: When Government Worked and Why” (Berkeley Public Policy Press) – William Bagley, a moderate Republican lawmaker (1960-74) from the North Bay who later served on the California Public Utilities Commission, the California Transportation Commission and the University of California Board of Regents, shares “an insider’s explanation for why politics seemed to work better then than now.”

“The Insecure American: How We Got Here & What We Should Do About It” (University of California Press, $24.95) – George Mason University Anthropology Professor Hugh Gusterson and Colby College Anthropology Professor Catherine Besteman edit essays from 19 leading ethnographers “to create a unique portrait of an anxious country and to furnish valuable insights into the nation’s possible future,” touching upon issues including the economy, terrorism, the “war on drugs,” racial resentment, a fraying social safety net, immigration, health care and more. Features a forward by Barbara Ehrenreich.

]]>http://www.ibabuzz.com/politics/2009/11/24/some-recent-political-books-for-holiday-reading/feed/6Intimate Lives of the Founding FathersO is for ObamaHelen Thomas to speak at Mills Collegehttp://www.ibabuzz.com/politics/2009/09/24/helen-thomas-to-speak-at-mills-college/
http://www.ibabuzz.com/politics/2009/09/24/helen-thomas-to-speak-at-mills-college/#commentsFri, 25 Sep 2009 01:16:37 +0000http://www.ibabuzz.com/politics/?p=8436Iconic White House reporter Helen Thomas will speak at Mills College in Oakland on Oct. 12 with Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Oakland. Thomas is promoting her new book, “Listen Up, Mr. President: Everything You Always Wanted Your President To Know and Do.” The free event is open to the public. Here are the details per the […]]]>

Thomas is promoting her new book, “Listen Up, Mr. President: Everything You Always Wanted Your President To Know and Do.”

The free event is open to the public. Here are the details per the college’s press release:

Helen Thomas, the dean of the White House press corps will join Congresswoman and Mills College alumna Barbara Lee (Class of 1973) on Oct. 12 in a conversation to discuss Thomas’ 60 years of covering presidential politics. All members of the public are invited to this free event from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm at the Littlefield Concert Hall at Mills College.
In her latest book, “Listen Up, Mr. President: Everything You Always Wanted Your President to Know and Do” (Scribner, 2009), Thomas and her co-author Craig Crawford, offer their observations of the most powerful role in the country and advice to presidents and the public who vote for them.
Gleamed from her years of covering John F. Kennedy’s presidency to the current Obama administration, longer than any journalist working today, Thomas has collected valuable lessons to impart to future presidents. Part history and part practical advice with examples from the first presidency through the forty-fourth, the book reveals the qualities, attitudes, and political and personal choices that make for the most successful leaders.
“Why not share what we think with all future presidents, and in the process help voters understand a little more about what to look for when picking someone for the most powerful and challenging job in the world?” Thomas said.
Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-Oakland) is chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus. Lee’s political experience began in Oakland in the early 1970s when she was president of the Mills’ Black Student Union and campaigned for Shirley St. Hill Chisholm, who became the first African American woman elected to Congress in 1968. Chisholm also ran for president in 1972.
The Barbara Lee Distinguished Chair in Women’s Leadership at Mills College, an endowed teaching position, was established in her honor for her leadership in human rights and social justice. Lee studied psychology at Mills College and has a master of social work from UC Berkeley. Mills awarded her an honorary doctor of laws degree in 1999.
Copies of Thomas’ book and Lee’s book, “Renegade for Peace and Justice,” will be available for purchase and signing following the presentation.
Nestled in the foothills of Oakland, California, Mills College is a nationally renowned, independent liberal arts college offering a dynamic progressive education that fosters leadership, social responsibility, and creativity to approximately 950 undergraduate women and 550 graduate women and men. Since 2000, applications to Mills College have more than doubled. The College is named one of the top colleges in the West by U.S. News & World Report, and ranks as one of the Best 371 Colleges by the Princeton Review. Forbes.com ranked Mills 55th among America’s best colleges and named it a “Top Ten: Best of the All-Women’s Colleges.” Visit us at www.mills.edu.

]]>http://www.ibabuzz.com/politics/2009/09/24/helen-thomas-to-speak-at-mills-college/feed/0http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2526/3951429141_a0993ef5d8_m.jpghttp://farm3.static.flickr.com/2461/3952207080_e2baa28a80_m.jpgNotable new books for the policy-mindedhttp://www.ibabuzz.com/politics/2009/09/21/notable-new-books-for-the-policy-minded/
http://www.ibabuzz.com/politics/2009/09/21/notable-new-books-for-the-policy-minded/#commentsMon, 21 Sep 2009 20:40:42 +0000http://www.ibabuzz.com/politics/?p=8373Sometimes an interesting new public-policy title crosses my desk, and from now on I’ll be making more of an effort to share them with you… “The Road to Yucca Mountain: The Development of Radioactive Waste Policy in the United States,” by J. Samuel Walker (University of California Press, $34.95) – Walker, the historian of the […]]]>

Sometimes an interesting new public-policy title crosses my desk, and from now on I’ll be making more of an effort to share them with you…

“The Road to Yucca Mountain: The Development of Radioactive Waste Policy in the United States,” by J. Samuel Walker (University of California Press, $34.95) – Walker, the historian of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, chronicles the technical, environmental and political problems with storing the byproducts of nuclear energy. Some of it’s pretty technical, but it’s worth wading through his account of the underlying science, the newest research and the politics and policy behind the issue.

“Dispatches from Juvenile Hall: Fixing a Failing System,” by John Aarons, Lisa Smith and Linda Wagner (Penguin Books, $15) – The authors, all with the Lane County, Ore., Department of Youth Services, delve into how “tough on crime” just doesn’t cut it when it comes to juvenile justice. Some of the real stories are harrowing, and their suggestions for a mix of punitive action, rehabilitation and family intervention is a good template for discussion of reform.

“Louis D. Brandeis: A Life,” by Melvin I. Urofsky (Pantheon, $40) – Urofsky, a Virginia Commonwealth University professor of law and public policy and professor emeritus of history, offers up 756 pages (not counting 142 more of notes and citations!) on progressive reformer and crusading attorney turned U.S. Supreme Court justice. It might be a tad heavy for the casual reader, but it’s a well-written and detailed (definitive?) account of the man who perhaps did more than anyone else in developing the right to privacy and mounted key defenses of the freedom of speech.

]]>http://www.ibabuzz.com/politics/2009/09/21/notable-new-books-for-the-policy-minded/feed/0yuccajuvenile-hallbrandeisRockridge Institute to close April 30http://www.ibabuzz.com/politics/2008/04/21/rockridge-institute-to-close-april-30/
http://www.ibabuzz.com/politics/2008/04/21/rockridge-institute-to-close-april-30/#commentsMon, 21 Apr 2008 18:33:41 +0000http://www.ibabuzz.com/insidepolitics/2008/04/21/rockridge-institute-to-close-april-30/The Rockridge Institute, a Berekely based progressive think-tank formed to combat its better funded conservative counterparts, is closing its doors due to lack of money. The institute was founded by UC Berkeley linguist professor and author George Lakoff, who gained fame after Democrats tapped into his “framing” concept in the book, “Don’t Think of An […]]]>

The Rockridge Institute, a Berekely based progressive think-tank formed to combat its better funded conservative counterparts, is closing its doors due to lack of money.

The institute was founded by UC Berkeley linguist professor and author George Lakoff, who gained fame after Democrats tapped into his “framing” concept in the book, “Don’t Think of An Elephant.” Framing is the study of how individual worldview affects thought.

Here’s what the institute sent out this morning in an e-mail announcement:

First, a big Thank You!

The Rockridge Institute was founded with a mission: to teach Americans about the role of values and framing in political debate, and to help progressives equalize the framing advantages enjoyed by conservatives. With your help, Rockridge has done more than any small think tank could be expected to do. About 1,000 of you have donated to support our efforts. More than 8,000 have registered as members of Rockridge Nation to engage actively with us.

And hundreds of thousands, both in the US and abroad, have bought our books and used our materials. If you are one of those hundreds of thousands, political discourse will now look different to you. As you read the newspapers and the blogs and watch TV, you can see the effects of our work everywhere. Your support has made that possible. For this and so much more, you have our complete admiration and gratitude.

The end of any organization, even a small one, is a complex matter, and an emotional one for those who have invested themselves in its life. In important ways, Rockridge’s triumphs and its limitations reflect the state of the progressive community and point to what the progressive future needs to be. Let’s begin at the beginning.

The Rockridge Institute was formed to address a set of challenges: The right-wing think tanks, after spending 35 years and 4 billion dollars, had come to dominate public debate. They had done this by framing Big Ideas their way: the nature of government, the market, taxation, security, morality, responsibility, accountability, character, nature, even life. This allowed them to then frame lower-level issues, special cases like terrorism, Iraq, education, health care, retirement, stem-cell research, the death penalty, affirmative action, and on and on.

Our challenge was to figure out exactly how they had achieved such dominance over the minds of Americans and what progressives could do–not just how to respond case by special case, but how to do the Big Job: to reframe the Big Ideas governing our politics.

How could a tiny institute in Northern California hope to make any progress on such a large task? Our strategy was to use the tools of the cognitive and brain sciences, and to address not just one or two issues, but the full range.

In the last five years, and on a shoe-string budget, Rockridge has achieved more than we could have dreamed of:

Theoretical achievements: We worked out the theory of conceptual structure in politics, including how framing works; value-based modes of reasoning for conservatives and progressives; biconceptualism; top-to-bottom issue-based framing; neo-liberalism; contested concepts; elementary and complex cultural narratives as they apply in politics; and the idea of cognitive policy.

Applications: We have applied top-to-bottom issue framing and other theoretical results to many issue areas, most recently, health care, immigration, and climate change policy. And we have applied other of our theoretical results to such issues as the war on terror, tort reform, popular democracy, education, religion, and so on.

Popularizations: We popularized the understanding of framing and values in political discourse, and have produced a progressive handbook–Thinking Points–and other useful materials, all free online. As a result, political advocates all over America have become far more sophisticated about framing and values than they were five years ago.

Community Creation: We have created and maintained a busy, interactive and sophisticated on-line community, Rockridge Nation, with features like question-answering, a weekly workgroup, and a blog. And we have aligned with key influencers to turn our ideas into action on health care, climate policy, and more.

Trainings: We have done successful trainings and workshops on a small scale.

Political effectiveness: We have helped get progressive candidates elected across this country at all levels, and even in Spain. Various observers, upon reading Thinking Points, have seen in it many elements of the Obama campaign and a new politics.

Most important to us has been how our work has resonated with you. We are proud of what we have done together. In short, with your support and participation, we have had more of an effect than any tiny Northern California nonprofit think tank had any right to expect.

But… we have not done the Big Job, not even close. The conservatives’ Big Ideas about government, taxes, security, the market, and the rest still dominate political discourse. Democrats in Congress still cringe at attacks based on these Big Ideas, and many have been intimidated into voting for conservative policies–on funding for Iraq, on government spying without a warrant, on taxes, on bankruptcy, and on and on. The Big Idea intimidation is still working. Changing that is the Big Job.

We at Rockridge have used the physical think tank form to get us this far. We’ve made important advances in understanding and articulating political cognition. We have done more in-depth studies than most people have the time to read, and we know what has to be done to tackle the Big Job. But we also realize that no small non-profit think tank can do significantly more of the Big Job than we have already done. That will take a large-scale, well-funded progressive cognitive infrastructure.

The progressive infrastructure built so far does not include a cognitive infrastructure. It has not tackled the Big Job–reversing the dominance of conservative Big Ideas in public life. Policy institutes do not address cognitive policy–the ideas and values that have to structure the public mind in order for nuts-and-bolts progressive policy to be accepted as just common sense.

When Rockridge started on its mission, we knew there were huge hurdles — not just from the Right, but within the progressive community itself.

The Progressive Funding Problem: The 1997 Covington Report [Sally Covington, Moving a Public Policy Agenda: The Strategic Philanthropy of Conservative Foundations] observed that conservative foundations tend to give large, multi-year block grants to promote conservatism in general. By contrast, progressive foundations tend to give small grants for a short time over a short list of specific issue areas. This results in small nonprofits having to constantly spend a lot of time and effort raising money, and all too often failing to raise enough.

The Cognitive Science Problem: Few people are aware of the results in cognitive science and neuroscience and the techniques of analysis developed in cognitive linguistics. Progressives tend to view research in terms of polls, surveys, and focus groups, rather than the methods for understanding human cognition.

The Enlightenment Reason Problem: Progressives commonly believe in some version of Enlightenment Reason, which says that reason is conscious, dispassionate, logical, universal, literal (it directly fits the world), and interest-based. The cognitive and brain sciences have shown this is false in every respect. But if you aren’t aware that we normally think unconsciously in terms of frames and metaphors, then framing would seem like deception, spin, or propaganda.

The Material Policy Problem: Unlike conservatives, progressives tend to think of policy as material policy alone–the nuts and bolts–and not cognitive policy: the ideas that must be in the brains of the public for policies to be seen as common sense. There is thus little or no understanding of the importance of cognitive policy.

The Framing-as-Messaging Problem: If you don’t know that framing is the study of thought, then you would naturally but incorrectly think of framing as messaging. This is reinforced by the fact that understanding framing does, in fact, help with effective messaging.

The Training Problem: Framing research can’t be done by just anyone. It takes training. And since staff members have lives and need financial security, it is hard to maintain a highly-trained staff without sufficient and stable funding.

In the end, we encountered all these problems. They are endemic to progressive advocacy and politics. We weathered them for years and accomplished a huge amount. Eventually–even with a thousand donors–the funding problem caught up with us.

Thank you for all your support.

Together, we will keep the Rockridge spirit alive and together we will continue to build a strong progressive movement with a sustainable infrastructure and a vital understanding of the cognitive dimension of politics, policy and governance.

]]>http://www.ibabuzz.com/politics/2008/04/21/rockridge-institute-to-close-april-30/feed/9Author of new Pelosi tome to sign books in Moragahttp://www.ibabuzz.com/politics/2008/04/09/author-of-new-pelosi-tome-to-sign-books-in-moraga/
http://www.ibabuzz.com/politics/2008/04/09/author-of-new-pelosi-tome-to-sign-books-in-moraga/#commentsWed, 09 Apr 2008 22:58:00 +0000http://www.ibabuzz.com/insidepolitics/2008/04/09/author-of-new-pelosi-tome-to-sign-books-in-moraga/Journalist Marc Sandalow, author of “Madam Speaker: Nancy Pelosi’s Life, Times and Rise to Power,” will hold a book-signing on April 17 at Saint Mary’s College Bookstore. Sandalow, the former Washington, D.C., bureau chief for the San Francisco Chronicle, has written about how Pelosi rose in political influence to become the first woman Speaker of […]]]>

Sandalow, the former Washington, D.C., bureau chief for the San Francisco Chronicle, has written about how Pelosi rose in political influence to become the first woman Speaker of the House of Representatives.

The book-signing will be held from 4-5:30 p.m., at Saint Mary’s Bookstore, 1928 St. Mary’s Road in Moraga.

]]>http://www.ibabuzz.com/politics/2008/04/09/author-of-new-pelosi-tome-to-sign-books-in-moraga/feed/0Chicken soup for the (political) junkiehttp://www.ibabuzz.com/politics/2008/02/13/chicken-soup-for-the-political-junkie/
http://www.ibabuzz.com/politics/2008/02/13/chicken-soup-for-the-political-junkie/#commentsWed, 13 Feb 2008 17:45:04 +0000http://www.ibabuzz.com/insidepolitics/2008/02/13/chicken-soup-for-the-political-junkie/You just can’t make this stuff up. A press release showed up in my email this morning from the publisher of the New York Times bestseller series, “Chicken Soup for the Soul” series. The publisher is looking for heart-warming stories about politics for use in its upcoming “Chicken Soup” for the souls of Democrats and […]]]>

You just can’t make this stuff up.

A press release showed up in my email this morning from the publisher of the New York Times bestseller series, “Chicken Soup for the Soul” series.

The publisher is looking for heart-warming stories about politics for use in its upcoming “Chicken Soup” for the souls of Democrats and Republicans. It will come out in July just before the two party’s national political conventions in late summer.

Heart-warming political stories? But I’m not the warm and fuzzy type so don’t rely on my opinion.

On the other hand, the publisher will pay $200 for a winning submission. Money warms the heart, doesn’t it?

Here are the details from the press release in case you are just dying to share your political story with the world:

Do you have an insightful, funny or powerfully moving story that puts a personal face on the political process? HCI Books, the publisher of the New York Times bestselling Chicken Soup for the Soul series, are currently seeking stories to include in two new books being released just in time for the National Conventions: Republican’s Soul/Democrat’s Soul.

As our country embarks on the most exciting and important presidential election of the last hundred years, we are inviting you to share your experiences, the lessons you’ve learned, and the personal growth you’ve achieved through the political process.

We will be featuring political history peppered with interesting facts and entertaining foibles. Contributions will include funny, nostalgic, and thought-provoking stories about the ins and outs of being politically-active citizens.

If you have a great true story that reveals the incredible experiences and feelings you’ve enjoyed while being part of our democratic process and would like to be included, please send your stories to directly to us no later than March 15, 2008.